Photographic developing apparatus.



- F. A. BINDER.

PHOTOGRAPHIC DEVELOPING APPARATUS. APPLICATION FILED DEC- 14. 1915.

1,21 3,489. Patented Jan. 23, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET I.

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F, A. BINDER. ,PHOTOGRAPHIC DEVELOPING APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 4, I915.

Patented Jan. 23, 1911 2 SHEETS-SHEETZE IN VEN TOR.

7 a m 1 We g 7. 1 a II 1,. 2 mmmmfly s a 1 I I l l v s I I j s 4 m a 6 11 0 fkl I A I 1 I Specification of Letters Patent.

PHOTOGRAFHIC DEVELOPING APPARATUS.

- Patented Jan. 23, 1917.

Application filed December 14, 1915. 1 Serial No. 66,716.

To all whom it may concern;

Be it known that I, FRANK A. BINDER, a citizen of the United States,residing in the city of New York, in the county and State of New York,have invented certain new and useful: Improvements in Photo graphicDeveloping Apparatus, of which the following is a specification,reference being had to theaccompanying drawing, forming a part of thisspecification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

My present invention relates to apparatus for developing photographicfilms, and particularly to that class -of films embodying a strip offlexible sensitized film and covering of flexible. opaque material suchas black paper, the endsfextending beyond the film to cover it whenWound in a roll, or when rolled upon a spool.

The object of myinvention is to provide an apparatus that is simple inboth construction and operation, into which the film may be placed, andwithout resort to thedark room the same may be unwound and heldseparated of itself so as to permit the necessary fluids required in thetreatment of the film to act thereon; this being attained without theuse of a flexible apron or similar film separating means, as such in myopinion are inconvenient to handle.

The invention further consists in certain devices and constructions aswill more fully appear, the novel features being pointed out in theclaims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is'a vertical sectionalView of the apparatus on the line AA of Fig. 2, and

.on the line Q-'C of. Fig. 5, with the film-- view of interior parts ofthe casing showing the film being ,wound upon the support or partition;Fig. 7 is'a vertical sectional view of the film-roll holder and aportion of its rarrying rod on line B-B of Fig. 2; and

Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the crank and the spring pawl adaptedtoengage the same.

Similar reference numerals indicate s1m1- lar parts throughout theseveral vlews.

vided with a removable cover 2 shaped to the form of the said casing butextending somewhat outward'of the top edge thereof. Attached to thecover 2 I provide a downward extending strip' 3 which runs completelyaround and forms sides therefor. This strip 3 or cover-sides, as it maybe termed, is adapted to fit intoand rest snugly against the sides ofthe casing 1 and combined with extension of the cover 2 as abovementioned serves to prevent the entrance into the apparatus of actiniclight and at the same time the said cover is held firmly in place.

Within the casing 1, and attached firmly to the bottom thereof I mount astud 5 which is preferably cylindrical in cross section'and having itslower portion widened or ex Secured rigidly; and firmly to the plate 6,i

and directly over the aperture 7 therein, I supply an upright member orpost 8 which in its present form is rectangular in cross section. At thelower end or base and extending upward therein a recess 9 is provided,this recess being practically a con tinuation of the aperture 7 in'thesaid plate 6 being directly on a line with same and likewise adapted toform a bearing for the stud post 8" and extending upward therefromthrough an opening 30 in the cover 2, I 'provide a rod 14, the upper endof said rod be- '5. Secured firmly in the upright member or Y ingsquared off above the top of the cover" 2, the other portion of said'rodbeing preferably cylindrical in cross section as shown in ggig. 6. InFig. 1, I show the rod 14 as exendinginto and embedded in the uprightmember or post '8 but any other suitablemeans maybe employed to securethese parts xfirmly together, the-said rod being merely a reduced upwardcontinuation of the said post and substantially a partthereof. At-

treating the same may readily come in contact with all parts thereof Iprovide a support or partition 10. This support or part1- tion ispreferably and as shown a strip of thin metal-having a width at one endof approximately the length of the post or upright member 8, and fromthis end it is cut lengthwise along one side on a bias or slant to acomparatively narrow opposite end, and the same is attached along itswide end to the post or upright member 8 so that the slanting side isupward. The entire length of the support or partition 10 is spirallywound around the upright member or post 8 and at the same time attachedat the lower end to the plate 6, a space being left between the .saidpost or upright member 8 and said partition 10, as well as between thevarious convolutions of the latter. The outer end of the partitionisturned back to form a projection 12, the purpose of which willpresently be made clear. It will be noted by reference to Fig. 1 andFig. 6 that by the present arrangement of the support or partition 10 aband-like surface descending downward in a spiral is formed and it isupon this surface that the film is wound in like downward spiral form. w

In the foregoing I described the support or-partition 10 as beingattached at its lower end to the plate 6. While it is most desirable toso attach the-said partition or support as in this manner it is heldfirmly and rigidly to form and the various convolutions of the coil heldin proper relation to each other, it will readily be understood however,v

that the plate 6 may be entirely dispensed with if the said partition orsupport is constructed of a metal or other material suflicientlyrigid orfirm to retain its form without the assistance of the said plate 6.

For fastening the end of the film tothe partition. or support 10 Iprovide thereon,

preferably adjacent its inner end, an outward projecting block 11 whichis attached to the side of the said support 10 below its upper edge andto the block 11 there is attached inturn a film fastening member 13which is supplied with grooves or slots 33 and 34 separated by a centralstrip 35.

For rotating the partition or support 16' Within the casing 1, I supplya removable crank 31 in which a squared recess 32- is formed to receivethe correspondingly squared upper end of the rod 14. As illus trated inFig. 1 and Fig. 5, a portion of the same general direction,

tion to the partition or support 10 so that it may be wound thereon, isemployed, As illustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 6 and 7 the film-roll holderembodies a main or body portion 15 having a tubular aperture 45 runninglengthwise through it and into which the rod 4 fits loosely. Extendingoutward of and firmly affixed to the body portion 15, a supporting bar36 is provided which should preferably and as shown be of sufiicientlength to rest upon the innermost convolution of the partition orsupportlO. The said supporting bar 36 carries firmly attached ad acentthe end two downward extending guide pins 37 and 38, sufiicient spacebeing left between these pins so that the upper end of the support orpartition 10 may easily and without effort pass between them and restagainst the supporting bar 36; and also that the said support 10 mayfreelytravel between the said pins when the support is rotated, as willbe noted by reference to Fig. 1 and Fig. 2. Attached at the lower end ofthe body or main portion 15 of the film roll holder I furnish an outwardextending arm 16 having an upturned end 17, the latter being preferablycylindrical in shape. In Fig. 7 the arm 16 is indicated as having aportion embedded in the body 15, and while this is a desirable means forattaching these parts, it

will be understood that any other suitable means may be employed forthis purpose, in fact they may be made of one piece. A similar arm 18having a downturned end 19 preferably cylindrical in shape, and adownward extending stem 18 erably and as shown square in cross section,

. is fitted l'ooselyiat the stem l8 into a corr e spondingly squareaperture 46 formed in the top of the body15. By this arrangement whichlatter is pref the arm 18 may be raised or lowered, thus permitting thearmends l7 and19 to be inserted into film-rolls of various width, thearms 16 and 18- however are held in proper alinement to each other.Between the arms 16 and 18 and extending outward in the I provide aspring member 20 which is attached to the body or main portion 15. Asbest indicated in Fig. 2, this spring member 20 is somewhat curved as toconform in a general way to the surface of the film-roll carried by thearms 16 and 18. This spring member 20 serves to hold the film-roll in afirm coil and thus preventing premature unwinding especially during thepreliminary preparation of attaching the end of the film-roll to thepartition or support 10. The spring member20 also provides sufficientfriction by hearing against the film-roll to prevent too easy unwindingthereof that the film and its protecting covering may be evenly andsmoothly spread upon the support or partition 10.

For admitting into the casing the necessary fluids required in thedevelopment of the film, I furnish a fluid box 21 in the cover 2, thesame having an attached bottom 22 which is provided with a series ofopenings 23. Attached within the box 21' is a supplemental bottom 24 andlikewise has a series of openings 25. An additlonal top plate 26 isfitted into the said box over the said supplemental bottom 24, the saidtop plate 26 being likewise supplied with a series of openings 27. Thisarrangement of parts is best shown by reference to Flgs. 1 and 5. Asthere indicated,'the openings 23 in the bottom 22 and the openings 27'in the top plate 26 are arranged in same relative positions to eachother or in the same vertical plane; the openings 25 in thesupplementary bottom however, are arranged between or out of alinementof said openings 23 and 27, and by this arrange ment, as will readily beunderstood, a series of indirect passages are'formed which will admitliquid but exclude actinic light rays.

Attached to and extending under the fluid box 21, a plate28 is provided,the purpose of which is to divert the fluid from the film during itsdownwardvflow into the casing 1, thus protecting the film againstStreaky or uneven development.

In the operation of the apparatus the support or partition 10 and thefilm-roll holder are preferably removed from the casing. This can bedone simply by raising the rod 14, and as the supporting bar 36 of thefilmroll holder rests upon the partition or support 10 both these partsmay be withdrawn at the same time. By removing these parts,

. the operator has freeand unhampered use of both hands during thepreliminary preparation of attaching the end of the film-roll I the endof the support '10 has been reached to the said partition 10.

Both ends of the sensitized portion of the film-roll should. be attachedto the black.

protecting paper. In the form of film-roll now in common use one end ofthe sensitized film is so attached at thefactory and a I will beoutwardwhenthe film-roll is wound in reversed direction 111 011 the supportor'v partition. 10 as: plainly shown in Fig. 6', is, placed between thearmsfl fi and 18, the and ends 17 and 19 being'inserte'd into aperturesat the ends of the film-r011; Film-rollsof various width may be treatedin the apparatus as the arm 18 may be raised or lowered of the blackprotecting paper which usually extends considerably beyond thesensitized film may be removed, a sufficient length of it however shouldbe left to fully protect the sensitized portion during the preliminarypreparation.

The loose end of the film-roll is connected to the partition or support10 by threading it into slot 34 in the film fastening member 13, andthen carrying the end back through slot 33 and under and beyond thecentral strip 35, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 4. By thisarrangement the end' of the "filmroll is held securely in an uprightposition upon the partition or support 10. The end of the film-rollbeing attached, the supporting bar 36 of the film-roll holder is placedupon the inner convolution of the partition or support 10 preferablyadjacent the film fastening member 13, the edge of said partition 1Oresting between the guide pins37 and 38. .The portion of the film-rollwhich,

as above described, was threaded into the film fastening member 13should be pressed downward as far as the block 11 will permit.

The support 10 together with the filmroll holder, which is held looselyto the former by the guide pins: 37 and 38, are placed in position-'within the casing 1, the support 10 being fitted upon thestud5 and thefilm roll holder upon the rod 4 as shown in Fig; 1; The cover 2 is nowplaced in position upon the casing 1 and the crank 31 fitted upon theprojecting end of rod 14. The support 10 is now'rotated in. the casingby turning the crank 31 in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figs.1, 2 and 6,

thus causing the simultaneous unwinding of the filmfrom thespool and therewinding of the same in reverse direction upon the I support 10, asillustrated in Fig. 6. When The manner in which the film-roll is held;in proper relation to the support 10 thatthe film may be wou'nd upon thevarious convolutions thereof will ,readily be understood. As previbqs'lyfstated thegsupport 10 and the film-r011. htlur re; placedfi'ntfdthe sition a e sui 'i b 'tin bar 6? o the [film'- roll holde'rjfat thispoint resting upon the ne i l i bf t s p rt l t- 1 51? of these partsbeing" approximately 13 6 as shown in Fig. 1. The arm 16 upon which-thelower end of the film-roll rests being 'mounted upon the body portion 15of the film-roll holder downward of the supporting bar 36, a portion ofthe lower part of the film rests against the side of the innerconvolution of the said support 10. As the support 10 is rotated, thesupporting bar 36, actuated by the weight of the filmroll holder, movesdownward with'the slanting edge of the support 10, and beingdirectedby'the guide pins 37 and 38 it also swings outward with each succeedingconvolution. As will of course be understood, as the supporting bar 36moves downward,

the body portion 15 of the film-roll holder,

which, as previously stated is loosely fitted upon the rod 4, also movesdownward and swings outward on the, said rod 4, carrying the film-rollwith it so that the latter is always in position to be Wound upon thatpor-' tion or convolution of the support 10 upon Which the supportingbar 36is resting; as clearly illustrated in Fig. 6.

In order that the'film may retain its position uponthe support 10 it isdesirable that a portion of the black protecting paper remains woundaround or connected to the spool. Usually there is a sulficient lengthof this black paper to permit the winding of the sensitized film uponthe support 10 with out entirely freeing the black paper from the spool,however as the apparatus maybe required to develop comparatively shortfilm's or films provided with but a short'leng'th ofv black paper at theends; I provide av'stopblock 39, illustrated in .Fig. 3. As shown,

this stop block'is provided with an aperture 40in one side into which ascrew 41 is thread ed, and extending upward from the bottom a recess 42is :formed. ,Suitable' indicating marks such as the figure 6 at 43 Fig.6, may

. be marked or stampedupon the support 10.

The figure 6 in the present instance standing for 6. exposures and themarking should be placed upon the support 10 at or near the point wherethe sensitized portion of a film of this variety may be expected to end.In usingthe stop-block 39 the same is placed upon the support over theindicating mark43 the upper edge' of said support 10 resting in therecess 42, and the screw 41 is tightened against the side of saidsupport 10so as to hold the stop-block firmlyin place; this operationbeing preferably performed before the support-1O is placedinto thecasing 1. ".As the support 10 is rotated and the sensitized portion ofthe film is unwound from. the spool the guide pins 37 and 38 come intocontact with the stop-block 39 and the rotating movement of the 'sup'port 10 is brought to a. stop thereby prevent-- "ing further unwindingof the black paper from thespool. As will'be understood the stop-blockmay be easily removed from the upon the support 10 the developing liquidis poured into the casing through. the fluid box 21, suflicient liquidbeing used to entirely cover the film. After the film has remained inthe liquid a sufiicient length of time the crank 31 is removed and thecover 2 lifted from the casing. A simple way to remove the film from thecasing is by raising the rod 14 whereby the support 10 and'the film-rollholder with the film still wound thereon, are withdrawn from the casing,and the film may then be detached from these parts and fixed inthe usualmanner.

While I believe it is desirable that the apparatus be equipped with thefluid box 21 for the purpose as above described, the same however is notabsolutely necessary to the Working of my apparatus, in fact the fluidbox may be entirely dispensed with. In using the apparatus without thefluid box the developing fluidis poured into the ,cas- A r ing beforethe film is wound upon the-sup;

v48 which is attached to the top of the cover 2, the end of the pawlbeing adapted to fit into one of a series of shallow grooves '47provided around the lower portion of the crank 31, as shown in Fig.8. Bythe present arrangement the crank 31 is prevented from loosely swingingabout which might result in dislodging the film from its position uponthe support 10. For attaching the spring pawl 48 to 'the' top of thecover 2, I provide an outward extending plate 49, as illustrated in Fig.1 and Fig.- 8, which may be attached to the top of the cover 2 in anysuitable manner. I

As illustrated in Fig. 6the support 10 is provided with a series ofopenings 44. These extend along the entire length of the said support 10preferably near its lower end,

and are for the purpose of allowing the developing fiuidto pass directlybetween the various convolutions of the support. While these openings 44are not absolutely necessary as suificient space is left between thevarious layers of the support'lO for the developing liquid to flow inand around all parts of the fi1m,,nevertheless these openings 44 are ofsome advantage and the support 1,0 should preferably be supplied withthem. The entire. apparatus may be constructed of metal, preferably ofnickel plated brass.

It is especially desirable that the entire filmroll holder beconstruc'tedof solid. metal and on the somewhat bulky lines shown inFigs. 1, 2, 6, and 7 as this film-roll holder retains its position uponthe support 10 by its own weight, as already described.

In Fig. 6 a filmroll having a backing of black protecting paper alongthe entire length of the sensitized film is illustratedthis being theform of film-roll now in common use, but it will be understood thatfilms having protecting paper only at the ends of the sensitized filmmay also be-treated in the apparatus,

I claim as my invention:

1. In an apparatus for developing photographic films, the combination ofa suitable casing closed against the admission of actinic rays; anupright member fitted within said casing; a rigid film support attachedto said upright member and spirally wound around thesame; and means foractuating the said upright'member from without the casing so as 'torotate the said film support.

2. In an apparatus for developing photographic films, the combination ofa suitable casing; a cover adapted to fit upon said casing; a stud axleattached to the bottom of said casing; an upright member pivotallyfitted upon said stud axle; and a film sup- I port attached to saidupright member and spirally wound around the same, the said supportbeing formed of a continuous strip of metal and held in a fixed coil.

3. In an apparatus for developing photographic films, the combinationwith a suitable casing and a cover adapted to fit thereon, of a studaxle attached to the bottom of said casing; an upright member having arecess formed at one end, fitted upon said stud axle; a'spirally woundrigid film support with vertical sides and attached to said uprightmember; and means for rotating the said film support from without theapparatus.

4. In anapparatus for developing photographic films, the combination ofa suitable casing, a cover adapted to fitupon said casing; a studattached to the bottom of said casing; an upright member having a recessformed at the lower end fitted upon said stud; a rigid spirallywoundfilm. support attached to said upright member; and means forremoving the said film support from the casing. I g

5. In an apparatus for developing photographic films, the combination ofa casing; a suitable cover adapted to fit upon saldcasing; a stud axleattached to the bottom of said casing; an upright member 8 having arecess formed at the lower end fitted upon said stud axle; a rod 14attached at one end to said upright member and extending upward .thereofthrougl" the top of said cover; and a rigid. spirally wound film supporthaving a downward sloping top edge attached to the said upright member.

6. In an apparatus for developmgphotoin said casing;

graphic films, the combination of a casing; a cover adapted to fit uponsaid casing; a stud axle attached to the bottomof said casing; anupright member having a.- recess formed at one end fitted upon said studaxle; a film support attached to said upright member, the said filmsupport being formed of a continuous'strip having a downwardslantingupper edge and wound in a spiral coil around the said uprightmember; and means for rotating the said film support within the casing.

7. In an apparatus for developing photographic films, the combination ofa casing; a cover adapted to fit upon said casing; a

fitted upon said stud; a spirally wound film support attached to saidupright member, the said film support having a spirally descending filmsupporting surface.

8. In an apparatus for developing photographic films, the combination ofa casing; a cover adapted to fit thereon; an upright member pivotallvmounted in said casing; and a rigid spirally wound film support having aseries of fi uid passages formed therein, attached to said uprightmember.

9. In an apparatus for developing photographic films, the combination ofa suitable casing; a cover adapted to fit upon said casing; an uprightmember pivotally mounted in said casing; a spirally wound rigid filmsupport attached to said upright member; and a film fastening memberprovided upon "said film support.

10. In an apparatus for developing photographic films. the combinationwith a casing and a cover adapted to fit thereon of an upright memberpivotally mounted in said casing; and a spirally wound rigid filmsupport adapted to hold a strip of photographic film in separatedlayers, attached to said upright member. 7

11. In an apparatus for developing photographic films, the combinationof asuitable casing; a cover adapted to fit thereon; a rigid spirallywound film support mounted a suitable plate attached to the lowerportion of said film support for the purpose of holding the variousconvoother;'and means for rotating the said film support within the saidcasing.

12. In an apparatus for deielopingphoto" lutions of same in properrelation to each for removing the said plate and,the film supportattached thereto from the casing.

13. In an apparatus for developing photographic films, the combinationof asuit'able 1 ing; a rigid spirally wound film support having asuitable. film supporting surface and rotatably mounted within saidcasing; a film-roll holder adapted to carry a roll of photographic filmalso mounted in said casing; and means for supporting said filn1-- rollholder in proper relation with the said film support so that the filmmay be wound upon said film support 1O tographic-films, the combinationof a suitable casing; a cover adapted to fit thereon; a film supporthaving a spirally descending film supporting surface and rotatablymounted within said casing; a vertical rod attached within said casing;a film-roll holder adapted to carry a roll of photographic film mountedupon said rod; and means for supporting the film-roll in proper may bewound upon said film support.

26; In an apparatus for developing pho- 25. In an apparatus fordeveloping pho relation with the film support that the film tographicfilms, the combination of a casing; a cover adapted to fit thereon; afilm support formed so as to have a spirally de scending supportingsurface mounted in said casing; means for rotating the said supof thefilm.

- FRANK A. BINDER.

Witnesses:

FRED E. MoMMER, C. ARTHUR JENSEN.

